Journey to Madame Jojos

A sleepless night before the battle begins. It is the topic of town. The dance battle House Dance UK in the club Madame Jojos, near Piccadilly Circus station. The place to be, as a dancer in the underground scene. The dance itself is an element of urban dance from the hip hop culture. Invented by the gay community of Chicago in the 1980s. This social dance is a combination of complex foot oriented steps with fluid movements of the upper body to give the dance a flow. All dance battles are marketed with flyers around the City. All my thoughts occur about that night.

10 pm. It´s time to leave. I grab the Oyster card and go. Getting on the tube, realizing again how it is packed. No time to be upset. Lost in thoughts for quite a while, I note down scribbles, which I take out from magazines, newspapers, everything readable around me. Tabloids are standard like Metro, Evening Standard. But on lucky days, a forgotten serious newspaper can be found and straight on read by me.

I get attention through funny moments that occur on the tube. Capturing such kind of incidents with my second best half – my iPhone. Travelling around the city as it is is always a great experience. These moments make you realize how adventurous, a commute around London can be.

Getting off the tube and walking through Soho, the heart of London, a place favoured by gays and lesbians. I enter the club. Urban life meets urban dance. I experience the transformation of human experience. Diversity in the club. The same as on the tube and central London. The center of metropolitan life style. The genre of music played in the club is a mixture of house, funk and hip hop. All dancers are trying hard to be different. Serious fashion statements are made here.

My turn to enter the competiton is soon. Heart beats. It´s time to stretch and warm up. Almost done and I hear my name to enter the battle. Get set ready and go. I dance with all my passion and feel so good. The beat, the crowd, the full package. 30seconds up. I danced my part. I did not win. You win one day and lose the other. It’s the nature of the game but the real winners are the people who can take the positive aspects and learn from them. The experience was worth it.